R.W. Roldan release new Single

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3ePyVQZrXU

It’s a sunny afternoon in the countryside. We find R.W. Roldan sitting alone on a patch of rocky earth nestled beneath an old withered tree. There’s a faded pickup truck in the foreground that R.W. points us towards in reference to his humble origins. Black and white photos of farmland and sharecroppers living in desolation enter focus. He recalls his youth and not being able to differentiate one person from another based on the color of their skin, as they all shared the same duties of stewardship in that deserted land, where luck didn’t come as easy as a hard day’s work usually would. The tone of Roldan’s voice changes. We’re shown images of modern day deportations and protestors angrily voicing their displeasure at the action. This is the video for Roldan’s single “The Color Of,” but it’s also a startling glimpse into what our country looks like today.

Roldan continues to calmly play his guitar, reminiscing about the hypocritical words that a pastor once told him, which seem to be in direct contrast to what he found for himself in the same scriptures, and the memory sends a stone cold shot of adrenaline through his veins. You can see it in his eyes and hear it in the timber of his voice – this isn’t the kind of world he ever imagined he’d be living in come 2018. Decades of oppression and resistance against tyrants to end up here, in a time and place where it seems like peace has never been further from being within our reach.

The strumming of the guitar is the only consistently relaxing element to behold in “The Color Of,” which is digs into some of the most painful and heart wrenching of subjects in all of the American lexicon free of any inhibitions. Roldan leans on his old beat up pickup truck as if he’s been weakened by the admission of sorrow that he’s bearing in his soul; the feeling of powerlessness that comes from being held down by the lead jacket that is authoritative control starts to slip away as his voice grows stronger, and soon it is replaced by an urgent sense of rebellion. We’re shown pictures of activism, ordinary citizens speaking out against inordinate injustices, and we’re compelled to join them along the frontlines in this live or die fight for Lady Liberty and all she stands for.

As the video for “The Color Of” marches on, we look at American families, soldiers, patriots, schoolchildren, service workers and carefree youngsters of all creeds and colors living their everyday lives in complete and utter harmony, and suddenly it becomes intensely difficult to fight back the tears as we think of how beautiful and undefeatable our diversity has made us. R.W. Roldan wails away at the lyrics like he’s preaching us a sermon on friendship and respect for all life, and his words penetrate through the speakers and touch each one of us directly where it matters most. I’m not a political person, in fact I loathe politics and the charlatans that use it as a platform for financial success, but this is a song that everyone, regardless of party affiliation or personal beliefs, needs to hear in 2018. It reminds us of who really makes up the fabric of our flag that waves above the Capitol in D.C., and why everything it represents is still very much worth fighting for now.

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/rwroldanmusic/

Mindy McCall